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In Erin Hart's follow-up to her first novel, HAUNTED GROUND, we again meet pathologist Nora Gavin and her erstwhile lover, archeologist Cormac Maguire. This time, the prologue tells of a man slowly drowning in a bog hole in County Offaly, in the center of Ireland. We next see Dr Gavin arriving at the location, anxious to begin work on the bog mummy that was partially unearthed by the turf digger. Actually, it was cut in half by the mechanical digger but the other half is still in situ and Nora will be able to determine something about its death, centuries earlier. Shortly thereafter, another body is located. It is another bog mummy, but this one is wearing a wrist watch, obviously a more modern burial. The bogs are being stripped of peat to run the obsolescent generating stations for this part of Ireland. But at least work will stop while Nora examines the current finds. Detective Liam Ward is called in to oversee the excavation of the newer body and the inquiry as to his death. And, of course, Cormac and Nora get stuck into the investigation. Hart is adept at creating characters and venue. The poverty of central Ireland is obvious in LAKE OF SORROWS, and, of course, mummies of any sort are always fascinating. I listened to the first book in an abridged audio version, and felt that I would have liked to have had an unabridged version. But on reading this book, I was glad that I had the shortened first book. I found this one to drag with the overlong descriptive passages. How many bog mummies are found in Ireland a year? How many bog mummies can a pathologist expect to examine in her lifetime? The villain was also too obvious and there was too much synchronicity between Liam's dead wife and Nora's murdered sister. If you like long expository passages and are curious about Ireland, this book, written by an American with an Irish husband and who spends time in the Emerald Isle, might be to your taste. The author implies that Gavin will be returning to the US to try to trap the murderer of her sister in the next book. Perhaps that one will be better.
Reviewed by Barbara Franchi, September 2004
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